Huanqiu, which is a subsidiary under People’s Daily, published an article asking the Chinese people not to boycott U.S. goods. This represents a rare positional shift for Huanqiu, which, since last month, has taken a hard line against the U.S. on the trade war between the U.S. and China.

The article stated that the American media have claimed that China has an ultimate weapon against the U.S., which is to mobilize the whole nation to boycott U.S. goods. “However, it could be a trap to hurt ourselves.”

“There is no ‘winner’ in a trade war. Each party tries to minimize its losses. That’s why China does not want to have a trade war and also why many U.S. main-stream media are against Trump on this.”

“American companies are already tightly integrated into China’s economy.” “They also play an important role in China’s economic and technology development.” The article concluded that boycotting American companies and goods will hurt China’s economy and factories.